The Striking Price

A Defensive Posture

The appeal of selling puts on armored-truck firms.

IN THE PAST MONTH, STOCKS HAVE RETREATED enough to tempt bargain hunters. At the same time, option prices have surged enough to tempt traders, many of whom are selling puts to set targets at which they'd be willing to buy shares.

Pete Stolcers, founder of the option-research Website www.oneoption.com, favors defense stocks in general and Armor Holdings (ticker: AH) in particular. While concerns about inflation and rising interest rates have hurt the broad market, and defense stocks haven't been spared, the sector is less...